WHERE: American University, Mary Graydon Center (MGC), first floor University Club (rooms 2-5). Note, MGC is off the Quad and best accessed from it. Free parking available in either the Nebraska lot or School of International Service. See map hereThe event will also be available via live stream

Contact: RSVPs from media should be made to J. Paul Johnson, American University Communications, 202-885-5943 or via e-mail: jjohnson@american.edu.

March 31, 2014 (Washington, DC) – American University’s School of Public Affairs, Political Theory Institute (PTI) in its ongoing tradition of encouraging the serious study of the great questions of political theory and to bring the insights of political theorists to bear on current issues and events will host a debate with American University’s Kennedy Political Union between General Michael Hayden and Barton Gellman on the topic of the NSA and privacy.

General Michael Hayden brings decades of military and government service where he led the National Security Administration (NSA) from 1999-2005. Following his pre and post 9/11 NSA tenure, General Hayden was appointed first principal deputy director of National Intelligence and went on to lead the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006-2009. Perhaps, no single individual in recent history has held as many keystone intelligence gathering posts in the United States during such a tumultuous time on the frontline of geopolitical strife and the war on terrorism.

Barton Gellman, two time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist is Edward Snowden’s contact at the Washington Post. Gellman returned to the Washington Post in 2013 to lead coverage of Snowden and the NSA. Gellman’s articles are based on classified intelligence documents provided by Snowden. To date with these documents, Gellman along with a New York Times reporter broke the PRISM program story which focuses on the mining of data from U.S. Internet companies.

Gellman and his colleague won a 2002 Pulitzer for National Reporting for the September 11 attacks. He won his second Pulitzer in 2008 with his colleague for their series on Vice President Cheney.